The US, the UK, Europe, the PGCC member states and Israel have each legitimate concerns regarding the stability of their currencies and about energy safety and security. Supporting armed insurgents and a co-opted political opposition however, is neither legitimate, nor is it strategically viable unless one wants to risk a regional war with global implications.
In 2012 the people of Syria have endorsed a new constitution. The constitution of Syria is by far the most democratic and tolerant constitution among Arab nations. The new constitution was adopted after an extensive and open dialogue with all parties and organizations who rejected foreign intervention. Minorities and vulnerable groups enjoy rights and protections which are unseen in most other Arab countries.
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Finally Iran is also one of the nations which is needed to assist the US in a peaceful, non-catastrophic transition away from a militarily backed Petro Dollar as global reserve currency.
The US, regardless of which administration rules, has a serious problem at facing the end of the militarily backed Petro Dollar. It is not only the US but also the militarily supported Dollar based world economy that has met its limitations in Syria and Iran.

NATO-led militants will never gain an upper hand against the government of President Assad in Syria, says James Jatras – som text

The idea of a transitional government headed by Bashar al-Assad and including opposition leaders has been accepted by all parties, with the exception of France and the Gulf monarchies. Paris, Riyadh and Doha continue to interpret the ”transition” as the passage from a Syria presided by Bashar al-Assad to a Syria without him. By contrast, Washington, Moscow and Damascus interpret the ”transition” as a process of pacification and reconciliation.
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That is where, obviously, the words of President al-Assad are incompatible with U.S. State department rhetoric. As far as Damascus is concerned, the nation is attacked by self-proclaimed ”jihadist” foreign forces. As for Washington, the country is facing a ”civil war” in which foreign fighters interfere.
Nonetheless, these views are gradually approaching each other. By registering the al-Nusra Front on its list of terrorist organizations, Washington has de facto politically abandoned the Free Syrian Army. Even if some U.S. politicians differentiate the ASL from Al-Qaida, the main think tanks – including the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) –affirm on the contrary that the Al-Nusra Front is the main component of FSA and the only one having operational significance. Henceforth, it has become common in the United States to say that the ”revolution has been hijacked” or that it has been ”commadeered by jihadists.” Consequently, Washington can easily be accommodated by the Damascus position. The human rights rhetoric that required that al-Assad be deposed requires today that he be maintained in order to fight terrorism.
All this is of course greatly hypocritical. The new energy reality means that the United States no longer needs to grab Syrian gas; the triple veto of Russia and China has prevented the destruction of the country by NATO; and the Syrian Arab army has held in check the destabilization strategy devised by General David Petraeus. Washington seeks an honorable way out of this failed war. Bashar al-Assad has taken the cue on his own terms.

Douma: An entire terrorist group was captured when SAA regulars supported by militia raided a home in Douma where a huge quantity of C-4 explosive was found. Besides, wiring, timing and remote control devices, drugs were discovered. These rats were dressed in ordinary street clothes, a serious problem, as Monzer says, when it comes to distinguishing between innocent civilians and the enemy
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I can also confirm that the four Turkish pilots captured in Northern Syria at the Kweirek airbase were a part of the exchange for the 48 Iranians.

Video – Syrian TV, the state television, Monday 14 January 2013*Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stressed the necessity of continuing work with all Syrian sides to solve the crisis in Syria
*French Fight Jets in Mali Africa
*Syrian Army Operations against the terrorist in several areas

A shell launched from the Syrian territory has detonated in the Turkish province of Kilis, a local TV channel reports.
The ensuing blast left a 5-meter wide and 1.5-meter deep hole in the orchard grounds belonging to a resident of the Akçabag(lar village, located two kilometers away from the Syria-Turkey border.
No casualties were reported, although significant damage was done to the trees. Gendarmes have been dispatched to the scene to compile a report and gather missile splinters.